Binozzle gouging torch and method



Dec. 19 1950 c. R. MOORE ETAL BI-NOZZLE GOUGING TORCH AND METHOD Filed April '16, 1948 INVENTORS CHARLES R.MO0RE JOHN VlLLORESl v RNEY HEATING FLAMES Patented Dec. 19, 1950 BINOZZLE GOUGING TORCH AND METHOD Charles R. Moore, Mendham, and John Villoresi, Lincoln Park, N. J., assignors to The Linde Air Products Company, a corporation of Ohio Application April 16, 19 Serial No. 21,494

3 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of thermochemically gouging in one pass a single groove in a metal body.

In the past this has been accomplished by the manual use of a single blowpipe nozzle as shown, for example, in Patents 2,258,455 and 2,148,936, and in an article by H. E. Rockefeller published in the September 14 and 21, 1939, issues of The Iron. Age, entitled Flame Gouging-An Economical Method of Grooving Steel.

Gouging a groove with a single stream of cutting oxygen discharged from a mechanized nozzle, however, is subject to the disadvantages of being unstable and inefficient. When the metal to be gouged is contaminated with foreign matter, such as granular welding particles, the gouge varies in depth and waters from side to side. This is very objectionable and undesirable especially when it is desired to rapidly gouge a groove of uniform cross section.

The main object of this invention is to overcome such objectionable disadvantages and dimculties. This object is achieved by the provision of two confluent streams of cutting oxygen which merge to form a fish-tail shaped gouging oxygen stream that renders the operation unexpectedly stable and efiicient. The invention comprises a novel flame gouging blowpipe attachment which is simple and economical to manufacture, and also comprises an improved thermochemical process of grooving ferrous metal which is highly effective even. for the mechanized gouging of contaminated metal. Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the invention.

According to the invention there is provided a flame gouging attachment for grooving ferrous metal by the new thermochemical process, which comprises a yoke adapted to be connected to a conventional cutting blcwpipe, such yokehaving a pair of nozzle sockets which are inclined inwardly toward each other. A conventional oxyacetylene gouging nozzle is mounted in each socket, so that the cutting oxygen streams discharged therefrom impinge completely upon each other directly in front of the nozzles and form a single vertical fish-tail stream of gouging oxygen. The individual streams of oxygen issue from the nozzles at equal calcuated exit velocities of the order of between 180 and 550 feet per second. The included angle formed by the longitudinal axes of the convergent streams may vary from a minimum of 20 degrees to a maximum of 60 degrees, without impairing the effectiveness of the resulting gouging operation, but it is important that such axes lie in a common plane. As a result, the gouging operation produces an exceptionally straight groove of uniform depth and width in a single relatively rapid mechanized pass of the device with respect to the work.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of apparatus illustrating theinvention in operation;

Fig. 2 is a view partly in plan and partly in section of the apparatus; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section of such apparatus.

As shown in the drawing, the attachment A includes a nozzle block in the form of a yoke iii having a central fitting 12 which is detachably connected to a conventional oxy-acetylene cutting blowpipe B by a Coupling nut M. The blowpipe B is mounted on a. conventional. mechanized power-driven cutting machine (not shown) which is adapted to support and move. the. apparatus at a constant speed along a desired path parallel to. the top surface S of the ferrous metal work W tov be grooved, which in the illustrated example is a flat steel plate.

The yoke if has a pair of inwardly inclined sockets IS in which are removabl'y mounted a pair of conventional gouging nozzles N of similar size and. shape. The nozzles are adjustably secured in place in the sockets by coupling nuts l8. Thev front end portions I9 of the nozzles N are conventionally bent and flattened for gouging service. The nozzles N are also constructed to discharge separate streams C of cutting oxygen at equal velocities, which oxygen is supplied to the nozzle by way of the blowpipe B, a central passage 28 in the fitting l2, 2. common cross passage 22 in the yoke l0, and inwardly and forwardly inclined passages 24 in the base of the sockets It.

The nozzles N are each provided with a plurality of small ports for discharging combustible gas jets for producing work preheating flames P adjacent each cutting oxygen stream C. The nozzles N are supplied with a gas composed of a suitable mixture of oxygen and fuel gas or acetylene from the blowpipe B by way of passages 26 in the fitting I2, and outwardly and forwardly inclined passages 28 in the yoke It. A gas distribution chamber 30 receives the gas from the passage 28 and distributes it to each of an annular series of preheating gas passages in each nozzle N.

The sockets it are arranged to hold the nozzles N so that by adjusting the nozzles about their longitudinal axes their outer ends touch each other, and such longitudinal axes of the nozzles form an included angle of about degrees regardless of how the nozzles arerotated in the block; however, they should be rotated so that the longitudinal axes of the bent portions l9 of the nozzles fall exactly within the same plane. This causes the respective cutting streams C to impinge completely one upon the other, approximately inch ahead of the tips N. If the cutting oxygen streams are only slightly out of line, a gouge of non-uniform contour will result. The included angle of impingement of the two cutting oxygen streams may be varied over a comparatively wide range of 20 degrees minimum and 60 degrees maximum without any appreciable effect upon the gouge produced.

For best results the plane formed by the longitudinal axes of bodies 82 of the nozzles N should be located at an angle of about 55 degrees with the surface S of the work W, when the nozzles are of the type having a 30 degree bend between the front end portion I9 and the body 32 thereof. As a result the plane in which the longitudinal axes of the cutting streams lie, is located at an angle of about 25 degrees or less with such surface S.

The two confluent streams C of cutting oxygen are discharged from equally sized orifices in the nozzles at equal velocities and merge and form a fish-tail stream F of gouging oxygen which is located with its major axis substantially in a vertical plane passing through the longitudinal center of the groove G to be gouged in the work W, i. e. with the narrow edge of the fish-tail stream F in the bottom of the groove. Thus when the apparatus is moved in the direction of the gouging operation, without otherwise changing the relative position of the apparatus with respect to the work, a groove G of remarkably uniform width and depth is thermochemically gouged in the work W by the composite gouging stream F, assisted by the work preheating flames P.

The operation is exceptionally stable, and more eflicient and faster than that of the prior art in which only a single stream of cutting oxygen was used. Suggested uses of the invention include removing defective welds, and grooving the back side of the welds made by either submerged melt or open arc-welding preparatory to the application of sealing weld beads. On sound metal welds, speeds of 24 to 30 inches per minute are possible in gouging grooves that are A; to 1%; inch wide by T g to 5% inch deep. ()n defective welds caused by foreign inclusions, speeds of about 30-50 per cent of the above are possible. Thus, with the invention, one hour of mechanized groove gouging accomplishes as much as 2 hours of prior art hand gouging with a single nozzle, and hours of pneumatic gouging with a mechanical gouge.

The range of calculated exit velocities of the oxygen streams C is critical to the extent indicated in the following table:

Permissible ran go of Velocity in feet Diameter of Cutting Oxygen Orificcs per second of Cutting Oxygen Streams (C) One-eighth inch 268 to 550. Threc-sixteenths inch 225 to 410. One-quarter inch 184 to 290.

mediately merge and form a composite stream of gouging oxygen, the longitudinal axes of such streams lying in a common plane and forming an acute included angle of between 20 and 60 degrees, discharging work-preheating flame forming jets of gas adjacent each of the confluent streams of cutting oxygen, applying the work preheating flames and the composite stream of gouging oxygen against the work, and advancing the flames and composite stream of gouging oxygen at a constant speed along a predetermined path parallel to the direction of such groove, thereby progressively gouging a single ridge-free groove in such work by the combined heat of the resulting thermochemical reaction, supported by the work preheating flames, and the force of said composite stream of oxygen.

2. Method of thermochemically gouging a groove in ferrous metal, as defined by claim 1, in which the common plane in which such axes lie forms an acute included angle of not more than 25 degrees with the surface of the work.

3. A flame gouging attachment for grooving ferrous metal by the thermochemical process, which comprises a yoke adapted to be connected to a cutting blowpipe, said yoke having a pair of inwardly inclined nozzle sockets, an oxy-fuel gas gouging nozzie mounted in each of such sockets, the nozzles forming an included angle of between 20 and 60 degrees, the discharge end portions of the nozzles being bent and touching each other, each nozzle having a central passage for discharging a stream of cutting oxygen at a velocity of the order of between and 550 feet per second, which streams completely converge about one-half inch in front of the nozzles to provide a composite stream of oxygen suitable for gouging in one pass a single ridge-free groove in the work, each nozzle also having combustible gas outlet ports for producing work preheating flames adjacent each of such streams of cutting oxygen, and said yoke having separate passages for simultaneously conducting cutting oxygen and combustible gas from the blowpipe to both of said nozzles.

CHARLES R. MOORE. JOHN VILLORESI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,148,936 Geibig et al Feb. 28, 1939 2,168,581 Pufahl et a1. Aug. 8, 1939 2,184,561 Babcock et al. Dec. 26, 1939 2,203,211 Bucknam June 4, 1940 2,232,328 Klopstock et a1 Feb. 18, 1941 2,260,322 Jones et a1 Oct. 28, 1941 2,362,535 Bucknam Nov. 14, 1944 2,365,411 Jacobsson Dec. 19, 1944 2,378,146 Luertzing June 12, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 26,338 Sweden Oct. 18, 1907 399,061 France June 21, 1909 of 1911 Great Britain May 4, 1911 185,730 Great Britain Mar. 22, 1923 402,400

Germany Sept. 15, 1924 OTHER REFERENCES Welding Encyclopedia, 10th edition, 1941, page 166. 

